


Steadfast

by Ember_Keelty



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-02
Updated: 2011-10-02
Packaged: 2017-10-24 06:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/259860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember_Keelty/pseuds/Ember_Keelty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an alternate session, PM and a friend flee the destruction of Prospit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Steadfast

**Author's Note:**

> For Writing Wednesday on tumblr. Prompt: PM being a badass heroine and not even meaning to/realizing it.

            The day it happened had been a long one already.  PM's route had taken her through the Land of Frost and Mountains, which always provided a bit more excitement than she cared for.  When she'd gotten back to her apartment, she hadn't bothered to make it to her bed, opting instead to collapse on the couch and doze off to the sounds of her suitemate scribbling furiously and occasionally shuffling papers over at the kitchen table.  When the sirens woke her up, she allowed herself to moan a bit as she rolled onto her feet.

            "Oh for goodness sake, didn't we have one of these just last week?" FA muttered, compulsively gathering up her paperwork and knocking it against the table to line up the edges.  "You go ahead.  I'm in the middle of something very important that will only take five more minutes."

            "Drills take priority," PM reminded her.  She hoped she didn't come off as rudely terse, but she was drowsy and not particularly happy about having to tramp all the way out to the launch pads herself.  "Whatever it is will still be here when we get back."

            It was not until they were out the door and nearly a block away that they realized that this was not a drill and they would never be going back.

            The first explosion was a fair ways off.  PM remembered something about a difference between light and sound, but she couldn't recall the numbers.  FA could, though.  "Ten seconds," she panted out as they broke into a run.  "A little over three kilometers."

            A minute or two later, there was another explosion, and FA called out, "Two kilometers!"

            Another two minutes:  "One kilometer!  Oh God, they're going to intercept us!"

            "Just keep going!" PM told her.  "We're almost there!"

            But they were still too far away to risk a final sprint when the Queens appeared, rings flaring, in the sky above them.  PM simply froze up and stared at them, but FA grabbed her arm and dragged her under the cover of a nearby bridge before falling to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut, and pressing her hands over her ears.  There was a part of PM that wanted to do the same, but a far stronger part kept her rooted on her feet, eyes fixed upon the two winged and horned women darting towards and away from each other to clash swords and fire lightning.  Their movements looked so measured, almost like those of a ritual or a dance.  They were beautiful, both of them, but their presence meant the end of everything.

            One arc of lightning snapped directly overhead.  PM heard the rumbling groan of loosened rock and had less then a second to think, even less time after that to lunge for and grab hold of FA and pull her out of the way of the falling bridge.  Even so, she almost made it, but a large chunk of stone caught one of FA's legs, crushing it and pinning her to the ground.  FA kept her eyes closed the whole time, and when she screamed it sounded as much out of fear and confusion as out of pain.

            PM stayed beside her and wrapped her arms around her more tightly, as though that could protect her from the crossfire of the battle raging above them.  "It's going to be okay," she said.  "We've practiced for this so many times and we're going to make it through.  We always pass this bridge, remember?  If I've had a long day and I'm tired, I'm always so glad to see it because it means the launch pads are coming up soon and then I'll get to rest until the drill ends.  So you see, it's all going to be okay."  She was lying:  the Queens had come out of their castles and the world was ending, and any moment now the two of them would be struck by lightning or shrapnel and then they were both going to die.  All she could do was try to help her friend through it, and she failed even at that when her words were drowned out by FA's continued screaming.

            Except, nothing hit them. The Queens passed them over, and soon the sounds of battle started to fade into the distance. FA calmed down a bit, and between the two of them they managed to get her leg free. PM almost wanted to call it a miracle, but it wasn't; it was just luck, and she knew that so many people, almost certainly including people she counted as friends, would be nowhere near as lucky.

            "You go ahead," FA said, hopping a bit as she got to her feet.  Her leg looked so cracked and bloody that PM thought it might shatter if FA put too much weight on it.  "I'm afraid I'll be a bit slow."

            "You'll be faster if you lean on my shoulder," PM told her.  FA opened her mouth like she was about to object, but PM cut her off before she could get started.  She was _so_ beyond caring about being polite.  "This is what I do:  I get things safely to where they have to go.  We survived _that_.  Whatever comes next, we're going to survive it, too."  This time, she believed it.  FA draped an arm over her shoulders, and they walked.

            They made it to the launch pads just in time to catch one of the last ships.


End file.
